Field of Endeavor
The present application relates to chemical, biological, and radioactive contamination remediation and more particularly to chemical, biological, and radioactive contamination remediation with lasers.
State of Technology
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Surface contamination by chemical, biological, or radioactive material is not unusual. Generally, the only very thin subsurface layer of metal is contaminated. The penetration can be deeper in concrete due to the small cracks and voids. Typically, the total amount of contaminant is small. Typical decontamination includes the surface cleaning or contaminated structure demolition. In both cases a huge amount of dangerous waste is produced. The storage of the waste is a big problem. In both the Three-Mile Island and Fukushima nuclear accidents, scabbling of contaminated concrete was important for the removal of the radioactive waste material. The handling of chemical and biological contaminated waste material presents major problems. The mechanical cleaning of contaminated surfaces produces waste that creates environmental and health problems.